Transportation rings are commonly used to hold the lid or cover on a paint can or other liquid containing can during shipping. Cans protected with transportation rings can be dropped from a height of 1.48 meters onto a concrete floor without the lid coming off the can. Without the transportation ring, the lid would become dislodged from the can and the contents of the can would spill out onto the floor. One style of transportation ring is shown in applicant""s U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,557.
Many types of products require a catalyst which must be separated from the resin until ready for use. For instance, urethane resins are often supplied with a separate catalyst which is only used when the urethane resin is ready to be applied. It can be readily understood that the shipping of a large can and a small can would tend to result in the smaller can being imperfectly supported within a shipping container so that it would shift from side to side if the container is dropped. One approach used to prevent such shifting is the use of a foam block with an opening which surrounds the smaller can. The foam block, unfortunately, creates a waste disposal problem and in some countries is unacceptable as a packing material.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a transportation securement system which is capable of supporting a smaller can on top of a larger can during shipping or handling in a carton.
The present invention is for a can holder supported in the center of a transportation ring which can holder has a central disk which has at least three arms extending radially outwardly therefrom. Each arm has an arcuate outer edge which touches the plug bead which surrounds the generally flat central portion of the lid of the larger can. When the can holder disk is placed on the lid of the larger can, it is prevented from lateral movement by contact between its arms and the plug bead. The can holder also has at least one raised circular can centering ring centered about the center of the central disk. The can centering ring has an inside surface which snugly fits the outside surface of the bottom of the smaller can. When the larger and smaller can are contained in a box with a lid which rests against the top of the smaller can, the smaller can is retained in a fixed position with respect to the larger can. It will not shift, even if the larger and smaller can are dropped. It is not made of a foam so that it is recyclable or disposable without the objections which foam members cause. Preferably, the can holder has three or four arms and has three circular can centering rings.